Fugitive Arms Dealer Sanjay Bhandari Set To Be Extradited To India

London: The controversial and wanted arms trader Sanjay Bhandari was approved for extradition to India on Tuesday by British Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition has been mandated in a money laundering investigation being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The agency was arguing the issue before a UK court on behalf of the Indian government.

The extradition of the arms trader to India had already been approved by the Westminster court in November.

Bhandari now has 14 days beginning January 12 to file an appeal against the UK Home Secretary’s and the court’s orders.

The ED began looking into the matter when the Income Tax authorities filed a charge against the accused Sanjay Bhandari before the court under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income & Assets) and Imposition of Act, 2015 [Black Money Act].

On June 1, 2020, the ED issued a chargesheet against Sanjay Bhandari and other accomplices, including several corporations he had established in the overseas jurisdiction.

Sources claim that the Income Tax Department investigation revealed links between Robert Vadra and Sanjay Bhandari.

Robert Vadra’s 2012 trip to France was a topic of discussion when Bhandari was interrogated by the Income Tax Department on April 30, 2016.